Maine ranked 39th for personal income growth in first quarter of 2014

PORTLAND, Maine — The total personal income earned by Mainers grew slightly in the first quarter of 2014, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of personal income growth and turning around a decline in overall personal income in the first quarter of 2013.

Growing 0.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013, Maine ranked 39th in the country for its rate of personal income growth in the first quarter of this year, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

That was the slowest rate among states in New England for the period. Vermont, where personal income grew 1.4 percent from the previous quarter, ranked second in the country behind Washington state.

Glenn Mills, speaking to the Bangor Daily News last week about measuring the state’s economic recovery, said economists with the Maine Department of Labor have long projected that this would be a period of slow growth for the state.

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“Every news release that puts us at the bottom for GDP growth or any of the other [measures] is no surprise,” Mills said.

Maine fell behind the national average of 0.8 percent personal income growth for the first quarter of the year.

Total personal income for the first quarter in Maine was more than $55.5 billion, up from $55.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013 and $54 billion one year ago. That income total includes all income received by Maine residents from all sources, including property income and payments from government programs.

The industries contributing most to the increase in personal income growth for the first quarter were construction, which was up $96 million, and nondurable goods manufacturing, which was up $60 million.

Professional, scientific and technical services added the third-most for any sector in the first quarter, rising $49 million from the last quarter of 2013.